You Could Be Happy
by silver.wings.34
Summary: Booth hopes Bones is Happy, even if he's not. Was a oneshot songfic to "You Could Be Happy" by Snow Patrol, but now there's more
1. Chapter 1

Hey everyone, this is my first _Bones_ fanfic. Let me know what you think!

You know I don't own it, I just love to write it. Enjoy!

_You could be happy and I won't know  
But you weren't happy the day I watched you go  
_

Special Agent Seeley Booth sat on the couch in his apartment, cold beer in hand. The tv sounded mindless drivel in the background while he sat contemplating. Normally he avoided such introspection but tonight he couldn't help the melancholy thoughts that flitted through his head. Tonight, he only had the tv. He didn't have Parker, a case, _her_. Tonight she was gone. She'd left for a three month dig in South Africa.

_And all the things that I wished I had not said  
Are played in loops 'till it's madness in my head_

_  
Is it too late to remind you how we were  
But not our last days of silence, screaming, blur_

"I got offered the chance to head up a dig. And I think I'm going to take it." Her announcement the month prior had come as a shock to Booth. They had been debating the merit of models in society when she had blurted out that life-altering sentence. After a beat of silence they started on a new round of debating, this time the reasons behind her potential absence. She argued that while she was fulfilled with their current work, it was a once in a lifetime opportunity to study… Booth tuned out the rest of the details, focusing instead on the heart-wrenching feeling of abandonment coursing through his veins.

They continued this debate until a week before her departure. He had been following her around the lab, giving her all of the reasons she shouldn't leave (duty to the victims, duty to the Jeffersonian, friends she'd be missing, people who wouldn't get their closure, the list went on) when she suddenly turned around, making him bump into her. They were in a quiet hallway and she looked up at him, exasperation, among other emotions, plain on her face.

"Give me the real reason you don't want me to go," she said earnestly, whispering even though no one was around, "give me that reason and I won't leave."

_Because I love you_, he thought. While he struggled momentarily on what to say (anything but that), she kept looking up at him, eyes pleading for something. He vainly hoped he knew what it was.

"You've heard all of my reasons Bones. If that hasn't convinced you, what else can I do?" he whispered instead, watching her face drop in disappointment for a fraction of a second before she made her expression blank again.

"I see. Well, that settles it I guess." She said before walking away. He didn't even try to follow her this time. __

Most of what I remember makes me sure  
I should have stopped you from walking out the door  


As he stares off into space, Booth is pretty damn sure he made a mistake. Thinking back on that last week, he shakes his head in defeat. He was too much of a coward, too proud to _ask_ her to stay. Their last hug before she went through the Airport security was devastating. Sure she was coming back in three months, but he wasn't sure they would quite survive it. He wasn't sure if _he_ would survive it.

_  
You could be happy, I hope you are  
You made me happier than I'd been by far_

_  
Somehow everything I own smells of you  
And for the tiniest moment it's all not true_

His pity party continued as he got up to pace. He should be happy for her. She was off doing what she loved. He knew that the civilization was in good hands. _Well, anthropologically and physically speaking, my hands are in excellent condition_ he heard her say in his head and smirked at the thought. 

As he kept pacing across his apartment, he noticed the little imprints she had made in his apartment alone. The apples with the little "organic" label, the bottle of scotch they had drank one night, the _National Geographic_ she had brought over one day. He could almost hope that he was going to open the door to her and a box of Thai food. This would have been her night to buy. She would have insisted. __

Do the things that you always wanted to  
Without me there to hold you back, don't think, just do

The shrill ring of his phone woke him from his musings. The phone display flashed an out of area number, blinking with an urgency he knew a phone shouldn't have.

"Booth," he answered briskly.

"Yea, I know," a voice answered after a pause.

"Bones? What are you doing?" he was more than shocked at a phone call at…1:27am.

"Well, I'm here. I just arrived and I—" she trailed off momentarily, "What are you doing up anyways?"

"Just thinking, but tell me about your dig," As she went off excitedly about the details of the people they had found, the artifacts they were going to be collecting, he just smiled. She was doing what she loved, and he couldn't hold that against her. He found that he was truly happy for her. Well, mostly.

_More than anything I want to see you, girl  
Take a glorious bite out of the whole world_

"Booth, it's…2:46 your time. I'm sorry I kept you awake!" She voice echoed her embarrassment at keeping him awake at such an unreasonable hour.

"It's fine Bones. I'm glad you're having a good time." Little white lie. He didn't need to tell her that his heart ached at the fact that she was seven hours away from him and hearing her voice only served to manifest his pain.

"Booth," she questioned after a slight silence. He prompted her on. "It appears that if we work efficiently on the site, the time devoted to the discovery and subsequent analysis of the remains and artifacts would be sufficiently reduced." his heart stuttered back to life at the implication.

"So, you'd get to come home early?" he asked, hoping her scientific ramblings meant what he thought they did.

"Possibly," she cautioned, but he could hear the smile in her voice, "would that be acceptable to you?

"God yes," he responded before thinking.

"Good," she stated simply, her voice softening with…affection? He hoped so.

"Night Booth," she continued.

"G'night Bones," he smiled before closing his phone. One day down.


	2. Chapter 2

You Could Be Happy pt. 2

**One Month Prior—**

_Dear Dr. Brennan, _

_We are honored that you have accepted the position as head of the South African dig outside of Benede Rural. The site's current… _

Closing out of the email, Temperance Brennan was slightly shocked by the wave of guilt she felt. It wasn't as if she was doing anything wrong. She was following her main passion, helping identify remains (of an ancient African culture no less), and it was only three months. So where was the guilt stemming from? A shout of "Yo Bones!" from the platform made her stomach drop even farther. Oh, that's where.

She had been putting off her decision about the matter for about two weeks, but had finally accepted the position yesterday. As Booth walked—no, strutted—into her office, she tried to figure out the best way to tell him.

"Hey Bones, we have a case! Messy from the sound of it," he said by way of greeting, eyebrows flicking up with his grin.

_I'm going to Africa for three months and now I'm doubting if I actually want to go._

"You coming?" he questioned after she didn't respond.

"Of course" she replied, shaking herself out of her state of confusion. The car—she'd tell him in the car.

—bones—

The case turned out to be surprisingly easy, the culprit folding in the interrogation room within 3 minutes ("Told you I'm good Bones!" he said with that infuriatingly cocky grin) but she still hadn't told him. They stopped for lunch, but in the course of the conversation, Brennan just couldn't work up the nerve to tell him. _He's pleased with the end of case, I shouldn't spoil that_ she told herself. While she didn't take much stock in psychology, even she knew that was a lie.

As they rode back to the Jeffersonian, they debated, though Brennan's mind was elsewhere. She went over the possible scenarios in her head, and felt panic rising in her chest. She had to tell him.

"I got offered the chance to head up a dig. And I think I'm going to take it," she said in one breath. She didn't look at him, but in her periphery she could see his hands tighten on the steering wheel and his quick swallow of shock.

"Bones…wha?" he questioned, not sure where to start first.

"Actually, I did take it. As of yesterday. I leave in a month." After her confession, he questioned her in rapid succession, becoming increasingly agitated as the ride went on. Instead of simply dropping her at the institute, he parked in the front and followed her in, arguing harder, more desperately with each step. She answered him rationally each time, explaining that yes, she did love her job, no, it wasn't forever, of course she'd be back, no, she wasn't going to stop work on her book, yes, she did feel a duty to the victims, but also to the science community, it went on. He finally left after a call from Cullen, but their discussion was far from over.

—bones—

It was a week before she was set to leave and Booth was _still _arguing about the matter. As she went to retrieve a set of bones in Limbo, he followed her, reiterating the same points again and again, and Brennan was getting tired of it.

"Bones, who is going to fight for the victims, huh? You told me that's the reason you took this job." He said, hint of sulking in his voice. Suddenly, that was her last straw. She took a deep breath and turned around, causing him to bump lightly into her. She was tired of fighting with him, tired of his sulking and anger and pleading and every reason that didn't actually matter.

Steeling herself with another, more shallow breath, she looked up at him, her own eyes pleading. "Give me the real reason you don't want me to go. Give me that reason, and I'll stay."

As he visibly struggled to verbalize his thoughts, she tried to control the strong jumping of her heart in her chest. She thought, hoped, she knew the reason he wanted her to stay. Though she was a strong, independent woman, she wouldn't mind giving up one dig. She couldn't risk her happiness, her heart, until she knew.

His eyes showed fear and something else she couldn't quite name. "You've heard all of my reasons Bones. If that hasn't convinced you, what else can I do?" he asked quietly.

Though she knew it wasn't physically possible, her heart stuttered to a stop. She quickly schooled her expression as best she could, mumbling some response (she honestly couldn't remember what) and continued onto Limbo. He didn't come after her, and that might have hurt the worst of all.

—bones—

A week later, she sat on the darkened plane, tired but wide awake. Everyone had accompanied her to the airport, and she wasn't sure if that was good or bad. They stood before the security check point, giving her warnings about safety, requesting souvenirs and holding off the sadness of their friend's departure. Once every warning was exhausted, they went down the line, hugging her in turn. Booth was last, standing still with his hands in his pockets and head down as he had been the duration of the goodbyes. She paused before him, not sure if she could even hug him anymore. He slowly looked up at her, put on a sad facsimile of his charm smile and finally gathered her in a crushing hug. It was all Brennan could do not to cry.

—bones—

After landing and the long ride to the town of Benede Rural, she set up her equipment. She inspected the site and the remains, and still felt out of sorts. She chalked it up to jet lag and went on with her initial inspection. The rest of the team wouldn't arrive until tomorrow, so she couldn't do much. She noticed the common area and the rather large satellite balancing precariously on top. Walking in, her eyes took in the simplicity. 5 long tables, gas for the trucks, a radio and _a satellite phone_. She felt like laughing as she walked over to it. As the phone connected (taking far too long in her opinion), she became nervous about her impulsive move. She gripped the phone tighter, biting her lip. Just as she was sure her heart as going to jump out of her chest and she was going to hang up, she heard it across the static:

"Booth."

And her world turned right again.

—bones—

Ok, so this story was supposed to be a one shot, but I've decided to expand it. I'm not sure how far, but expect another chapter or two in the future. 

.


	3. Chapter 3

Ok, this is the final chapter, but more stories on the way!

—bones—

It had been three months, 91 days, 7,975,63…1 seconds since Angela Montenegro had last seen her best friend. Not counting all those times on Skype of course. As she waited outside of customs at the airport, she snuck a glance at the man next to her. Seeley Booth was as impatient as her (if not more) to see her best friend. And he didn't hide it any better. Angela watched as he alternately tapped his foot, checked his watch (fifteen times in the last five minutes alone), drummed his fingers against his leg and glanced over at the flower seller across the pavilion. Angela just smiled.

—bones—

Booth was pretty sure he had never been so simultaneously excited and nervous to see someone in his entire life. Throughout the past three months, he and bones had been emailing almost daily and talking on the phone weekly—and that didn't include the times she consulted on cases. But that didn't change the fact that he missed her terribly. He was about ready to jump out of his skin when he heard Angela snickering next to him. He turned to look at her and wasn't sure he liked the smirk on her face. Before he could ponder it further, he heard the doors from customs opening and turned to look as a crowd of people exited towards them. Turning back towards his companion, he was slightly shocked when his hand came in contact with air where Angela's arm should have been. How could he have missed that?

—bones—

From her position behind a pillar, Angela observed Booth as he scanned the area for her. Slipping away had been too easy, and now she was in the perfect position to watch. Booth kept looking around for her but then suddenly froze as his eyes alighted on his partner across the way. She was struggling with her suitcase and hadn't looked up yet. Angela held back her squeal as she watched her best friend halt her movements as well when she saw Booth standing there nervously. She bit her lip then gave him a small, shy smile and continued her slow walk towards him. He watched her for a moment before striding towards her, giving her the biggest grin Angela had ever seen on his face. When they reached each other, they just smirked at one another before he mumbled something (Angela would later swear it was "Oh what the hell" to Hogins) and picked Bren up in a crushing hug. This time Angela couldn't hold in the squeal that erupted from her happiness. She broke into a run towards the surprised pair.

—bones—

As the three finished off their Chinese take-out in Brennan's living room, she told them all about her trip, the discoveries and the people she had met. Angela laughed about the stories of the elephants through camp, was touched by the beautiful art Bren brought back for her and simply smirked when Booth bristled as Bren talked about the other Anthropologist, Rob, from Princeton. Noticing the night winding down (and the pair who sat closer on the couch than they should), Angela bid them both goodnight and promised to see them both Monday. After the door closed, Brennan moved to gather all of the dishes but was stopped by a strong arm on her wrist.

"Let's just sit." He responded to her unanswered question. Brennan hesitated before she obliged and sat back down. He hadn't yet released her wrist and was playing with the bracelet she had on. She explained the story behind the trinket and they then dissolved into a comfortable silence again.

"Booth," she started, and he noticed her shift into slight agitation, "I…well, during the time I've been away, I have come to realize that while my work with excavations is very important to academia, perhaps my skills would be better utilized in the field. With you." Booth watched the pink flush slowly rise on her cheeks throughout the speech and he couldn't help but break into a cheek splitting grin. He couldn't help but puller her closer to his side.

"I missed you too, Bones. I missed you too."


End file.
